Longwood Checks Before Engineer Gets Another Title

August 14, 1985|By Mark Andrews and Terry Osinski of The Sentinel Staff

LONGWOOD — While the city awaits a state attorney general's ruling on whether Greg Manning may hold the positions of city administrator and police chief simultaneously, city attorney Gerald Korman will try to find out if city engineer Charles Hassler also may serve as chief building official.

The city commission Monday night delayed action on a resolution naming Hassler as building official until legal questions surrounding the issue of dual office-holding can be cleared up. He was hired as the city engineer and public works director earlier this year.

The state Constitution prohibits one person from holding more than one ''office'' at the same time. Written attorney general opinions have ruled that the positions of city manager, city commissioner or councilman, police chief, city clerk, treasurer, city engineer and others are considered offices because specific authority is delegated to those people.

In Hassler's case the question is whether building official is also considered an office.

The city's plan is to put one man in charge of engineering, public works and building inspections. If Hassler is appointed building official, Roswell ''Bud'' Bryan, who now holds the position, would be demoted to building inspector.

A second building inspector, Jerry Davis, will be laid off when the budget year ends Sept. 30 because his position was cut from next year's budget. Commissioners said they did not think there would be enough inspection work to keep him on.

Korman has been told it will be a matter of weeks before the attorney general's office rules on his request to determine whether Manning may hold both of his jobs at once. He took over the administrator's post on an indefinite basis July 1.

In other action:

-- Commissioners agreed to accept a $200 per home fee from Centex Homes of Florida, the developer of the proposed 100-unit Hidden Oaks subdivision on West Lake. The money will be collected in lieu of providing land for a city park. Manning said the $20,000 will be held in escrow and used to purchase future park land within the city.

-- Commissioners took no action on a request from Peterson Outdoor Advertising of Orlando to replace a double-faced billboard with a rotating sign that would display three advertisements. A Peterson representative told commissioners the new sign was needed to meet the demand for ad space in the Longwood area. City attorney Jerry Korman said since the sign was movable, it would not comply with the city's sign ordinance.

-- Korman received permission to replace Frank Kruppenbacher, the city's labor attorney, with David Kornreich, a Miami attorney who does labor work for Seminole County. Kruppenbacher had served as Longwood city attorney until his Feb. 11 resignation. He cited personal reasons for his resignation and asked that he continue working on some of the city's labor cases.